Earlier in the episode, Tom was shown putting two of his chilli and pineapple soufflés in the oven, but a MasterChef spokeswoman explained the dish was an original attempt by Tom which had ‘naturally deflated’.

She added to the Daily Mirror: ‘We often cut back to the shot of the food as it was when first plated up as a reminder of how the dish looked before the tasting.’

But a show source admitted contestants are often allowed to cook two soufflés because of the ‘temperamental nature’ of the dish.

The Australian version of MasterChef has previously come under fire after it emerged that contestants had been given the opportunity to ‘re-plate’ their dishes in between scenes.

The showâs executive producer admitted: ‘On rare occasions both the contestant and the celebrity chef in MasterChefâs celebrity chef challenge are offered the opportunity to re-plate their dishes between the completion of the challenge and the tasting of the dish.’